Stephens Auditorium main curtain gets a much-needed cleaning

Friday

Dec 20, 2013 at 8:05 AMDec 23, 2013 at 12:44 AM

Walking around the Iowa State University campus, visitors will see several big, heavy sculptures. But the largest of all the campus artwork actually resides in Stephens Auditorium, and audience members may get a glance at it before a show.

Walking around the Iowa State University campus, visitors will see several big, heavy sculptures. But the largest of all the campus artwork actually resides in Stephens Auditorium, and audience members may get a glance at it before a show.

Weighing 2,800 pounds, the Stephens main curtain has been hanging at 80 feet long and 35 feet wide since the building opened in 1969. Now, the large piece is getting a thorough cleaning. The project is being led by Kate Greder, textile conservation fellow at University Museums, and her two ISU student assistants.

Greder first heard about the project when Lynette Pohlman, director and chief curator at University Museums, mentioned the idea in one of Greder’s textile conservation classes.

"It’s something that I think has been in the works for a while," Greder said. "It’s such a remarkable piece, and I jumped at the opportunity to work on it."

While Greder said the curtain is structurally in good condition, the piece has gathered a thick layer of dust that needs to be cleaned. Greder and her team have already cleaned the full back of the curtain and repaired some spots, but the main work on the front side will continue through April.

The curtain was first constructed in Kyoto, Japan, in 1969 by a mill that created what Greder estimated to be more than 1,000 theater curtains. This curtain was constructed by seven workers over four months, on a continuous loom. The piece includes materials such as polyester yarn, mylar, PVC, rayon and more and because intricate details would have been added by hand as they wove, Greder said the piece is technically considered a tapestry.

While the original rumor around ISU was that the symbols in the piece recognize the agriculture and engineering colleges, Greder said that may not be the case.

"That was something that was said years ago, and very well might be true. However, the man that commissioned it, commissioned it from a very similar piece that he saw in Japan," Greder said. "So there is, in fact, a twin to this one. This one is actually more detailed, but it’s based on one in a cultural center in Japan."

Still, some people swear they see ISU icons like the Campanile in the piece, which Greder said is part of the fun.

"That’s the fun part about abstract art: It can be anything," Greder said.

The abstract details in the curtain also make for a more fragile cleaning process. Amy Lowery, senior in anthropology and biology, has been helping Greder clean some of the more intricate parts of the curtain. While some spots can be cleaned by a simple vacuuming, the smaller detailed parts require a gentle cleaning with a washcloth and water.

"Basically we’re just vacuuming and dusting off all of the years and years of dust that’s accumulated on all the different parts of this curtain," Lowery said.

Lowery first heard about the project during her museums studies class, and wanted to get involved. While Lowery was a volunteer this semester, she will be acting as an intern during the next semester cleaning.

"She graciously stepped into the fray, having no idea what she was getting into," Greder said.

The team works on the curtain every day when there is no show in Stephens, although the curtain is not always in use for every production. While the curtain used to be lowered for a majority of shows, Lowery said it is now typically only seen during official ISU shows. However, the curtain was recently lowered for the annual production of "The Nutcracker."

"It’s been great because right as this story’s been breaking, it was down for ‘The Nutcracker.’ So a bunch of people have seen it, which is perfect timing," Greder said.

Greder is not sure if the curtain will be used more often after the cleaning is complete, but she does hope it will get a more regular cleaning in future years. Despite the hard work ahead, Greder and Lowery are not daunted by the large task.

"It may seem like meticulous work but honestly, time really does fly," Lowery said. "Hours go by and you don’t even realize it."